Friday, October 17, 2003

InstaPundit: "It's true, of course, that better reporting from Iraq might bring up negative news (in fact, it surely would) -- but it might actually be, you know, news, not the same old stuff that even those Democrats are calling "police blotter" reporting." And right on schedule, here's that darn liberal press -- well, actually the government-funded Voice of America -- reporting that four more soldiers have been killed in Iraq. I guess Glenn's point is that it's not news if it happens all the time? 3:25:04 PM    comment []

Joseph Kennedy: "I have become convinced over the years that juries in criminal cases have lowered the prosecution's burden of proof, especially in murder cases." If true, it's only a bad thing if the burden of proof is now too low, right? Kennedy says that may be the case: "we know that in the aggregate we are too often wrong." He goes on to say it's not worth the benefit of convicting more guilty people, too. Linked and commented upon by Eric Muller. 3:11:53 PM    comment []

How does a 12-year-old from North Carolina become a Red Sox fan? Why does he reject the faith of his mother's people and shun the Yankees? "I just hate dominant teams," said Elijah, sounding without knowing it very much like his grandfather who died before he was born. He adopted the Sox right about the time he started tuning in to Sports Center a couple of years ago, and loves them still -- he may love them more now that they've broken his heart. This morning he was trying to get on with his life. "I'm going to take a shower to wash off the stench of defeat," he said. So the Sox and the Cubs once again must wait til next year. But for ACC basketball fans, next year starts tonight. * * * A Carolina football legend from my father's youth, Charlie Justice, died this morning. 11:03:09 AM    comment []

Crimestoppers, Greensboro style. "'That is not a real gun,' Simpson told the robber. 'This is a real gun,' he said, pulling a .25-caliber derringer from his front-right jeans pocket.'" Thus answering the question: Simpson wasn't just glad to see him. A man tried to rob the Action Video store on Alamance Church Road. According to the News & Record, store manager Ron Simpson was "95 percent sure" the guy's gun was a fake. As the N&R's Amy Wolfford tells it: "When Simpson threatened to shoot, the man pulled a rack of gummy bears in front of him for protection. 'Like that's going to stop the bullet,' said Simpson, a Vietnam veteran and gun aficionado who carries a concealed-gun permit." A word of advice Action Video customers: rewind. 10:15:59 AM    comment []